Steroid Nation (TM) is an online journal looking at the use of anabolic steroids (and performance enhancing drugs PEDs, HGH, doping) in sports, youth, and society. By Gary Gaffney, M.D., from the University of Iowa, College of Medicine.

Barry Bonds

04/23/2008

Superstar steroid investigator Jeff Novitzky, the investigative heavyweight behind the BALCO probe, appears to be traded from the IRS team to Team FDA. The New York Times covers this story:

Jeff Novitzky, the federal agent whose investigation into
performance-enhancing substances has exposed cheating in professional
sports, left the Internal Revenue Service recently and joined the Food and Drug Administration to focus on the distribution of illegal drugs, according to an F.D.A. official and two lawyers who were briefed on the change.

Novitzky has joined the F.D.A. Office of Criminal Investigations as
a special agent with all the same investigative powers he had during
his 15 years with the I.R.S., the lawyers said.

Novitzky will
remain based in the Bay Area and continue to work closely with the
United States attorney’s office in the Northern District of California,
the lawyers said. One of the lawyers said the F.D.A., which has fewer
agents than the I.R.S., had been courting Novitzky for some time
because of his work as the lead investigator on the Bay Area Laboratory
Co-operative case. So far, eight people have pleaded guilty in
connection with the Balco investigation, including the track star Marion Jones.

Despite the trade, Novitzky will remain in the Bay Area. Already in the FDA lineup, Novitzky was swatting at Jose Canseco:

Novitzky and two other federal agents were in Los Angeles on Tuesday to interview José Canseco
in connection with their investigation into Miguel Tejada and Clemens,
who are suspected of making false statements as part of separate
Congressional investigations into the use of performance-enhancing
drugs.

Canseco was questioned for three hours, his lawyer, Greg
S. Emerson, said in a telephone interview. He said Canseco was
questioned about “the things we expected.”

Why did Novitzky jump teams from IRS to FDA. Appears that a career advancement might be one issue, as well as joining a team with more talent, and better hitters in the lineup.

“I think it would give him more exposure to just doing that type of
work,” Sparlin said by telephone Tuesday. He added: “For Jeff to go as
far as he did in Balco was a stretch for the I.R.S., too. I think he
was allowed to go a lot further than he would otherwise because of the
impact.”

F.D.A. investigators work with grand juries and use
subpoenas. False statements to an F.D.A. agent are no different under
federal law from false statements to an I.R.S. agent; the track coach
Trevor Graham, who is charged with three counts of making false
statements to Novitzky, goes on trial May 19.

The F.D.A. office
was involved in Operation Raw Deal, which resulted in 124 arrests in
September. That case focused on human growth hormone and steroids
coming from China to underground labs in the United States.

There are no reports about salaries, arbitration, trade details, or contracts. We expect Novitzky to hit cleanup for the FDA. There were some rumblings that Novitzky was using HGH to increase his power, however these should be quickly dismissed...

04/08/2008

We came across a Forbes story from San Francisco, again about the absence of slugger Barry Bonds from the Giant's lineup. The story carried this line:

Willie Mays, the Giants' greatest player, has streets and statues
dedicated to him across the city of San Francisco, but he was already
an MVP and World Series winner with the New York Giants before he came
to the Bay area. Barry Bonds, Mays' godson, who came up in San
Francisco, was our great hope--that explains our unconditional support
through the steroids scandal.

How many times have you read that Barry Bonds's godfather is Willie Mays? Well, does anyone check references on this.

Willie Mays. Mays, Banks, and Paige are all in the Hall of Fame. Bobby is Barry's father.

Typical. Do a Google search on "Barry Bonds" and "Godfather" You will find over and over again that Willie Mays is the 'godfather' of Barry Bonds. Check the facts.

Barry Bonds was born on 24-July-1964 in Riverside, CA. His father Bobby Bonds (to the left) just graduated from Riverside Polytech High School (with Dusty Baker) where he was an 1964 All-American in track, and an All-State baseball player and All-State football player (drafted in 1965 by the NFL). Bonds spent the summer of 1964 in the Carolina League where he was player of the year.

Bobby Bonds first MLB game with the San Francisco Gaints was June 26, 1968, in which he hit a grand slam home run. Bonds probably became closer to Willie Mays in the 1969 season, when he consistently played left field next to Willie, who was in center.

According to Jeff Pearlman in "Love Me Hate Me, Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero" (on Page 26), Willie Mays was not actually Barry Bonds's godfather, but his "honorary" godfather.

Barry Bonds was born to a freshly graduated Riverside CA athlete. Bobby Bonds -- Barry's father -- didn't break into the major leagues until 1968 when Barry was almost 4; Bobby was in the minor leagues when Barry was born. Likely Bobby Bonds didn't meet Willie May until he spent some time in San Francisco with the major league team. However, it is universally written that Willie Mays is Barry Bonds 'godfather'. Willie Mays would be Barry Bonds 'honorary godfather' and from what we can tell, not the man who 'stood' for Bonds at his baptism (unless he was baptized at age 4 or later).

This might be like the Italian 'godfather' and 'cousin' in the Mafia sense.

4. A Utah station says high school use of steroids is epidemic (CDC disagrees) (ABC 4)

5. Duke newspaper says good riddance to old athletic director Joe Alleva, who resigned to take the position at LSU. Sites failure to be honest about steroid abuse on Duke baseball team. (Duke Chronicle)

04/03/2008

``This case is about holding Ms. Thomas responsible for
those false statements,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow
told a San Francisco federal jury today. ``This prosecution is
not about steroids, it's not about sports. You cannot go into
the grand jury and make false statements.''

Thomas is also charged with obstructing the federal probe.
Prosecutors said Thomas was the link between Bay Area Laboratory
Cooperative, a lab known as Balco, and Patrick Arnold, an
Illinois chemist who made drugs for the lab.

Her lawyers say she testified truthfully, any substances
she took were legal at the time she took them and her testimony
wasn't material to the grand jury probe.

To convict her, jurors have to agree that her testimony was
material, or could have influenced the grand jury, according
to the judge's instructions.

``The government has miscast this case. They told you that
the Balco grand jury was investing Patrick Arnold,'' Thomas
lawyer Ethan Balogh told the jury. ``We know the Balco grand
jury wasn't investigating Patrick Arnold'' because prosecutors
already had evidence against him...

Thomas faces as much as three years in prison and a
$250,000 fine for the false statement charges and 10 years in
prison and a $250,000 fine for obstruction of justice.

Interesting the burden of proof placed on prosecutors.

Also interesting that the prosecutors argued the drugs were legal. THG was nowhere near legal at that time. Patrick Arnold -- who synthesized the steroid -- never went through a single phase of testing from basic animal studies, to animal and human toxicology, to pharmacokinetics, to human clinical trials. Not one phase. That is ludicrous to say this drug was legal. It irritates this writer that a lawyer would argue that point in court without his tongue turning black and his eyes bleeding out. As ludicrous as a woman shaving every morning, not thinking she is taking an anabolic androgenic steroid.

However, juries do not hinge deliberations on the issue of ludicrous statements. We await the verdict. So does Barry Bonds.

Internal Revenue Service
agent Jeff Novitzky, for the past five years on the hunt for steroids
in sports, faced his first hostile questioning for his role in BALCO as
he testified in the perjury trial of former world-class cyclist Tammy
Thomas. Novitzky has put the squeeze on superstars ranging from former
San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds to Olympic track and field
star Marion Jones, but he spent the second day of his testimony in
Thomas' trial fending off suggestions that he abused his power as a
criminal investigator to clean up doping in sports.

Ethan
Balogh, Thomas' lawyer, cross-examined Novitzky on whether he
improperly transformed his investigation into BALCO's steroids ring
into a crusade against steroid use in sports. The San Jose-based agent
repeatedly was questioned about the federal government's motivation for
hauling athletes before the BALCO grand jury in 2003, and why an IRS
agent who ordinarily focuses on financial investigations would be cut
loose to probe the sports world's doping problems.

The agent did not budge from his earlier assertions that investigators
needed the testimony of Thomas and other athletes to determine BALCO's
reach.

"Your goal was not to investigate violations of the rules of sport, correct?" Balogh asked.

"Correct," Novitzky replied.

"Your goal was not to clean up the record books?" Balogh

"That's correct," the agent said

Incredible how arguments can be pulled in from ethical outer space that appear to be pushing a point -- but a ridiculous point -- that the government 's inquiry was a witch-hunt (except in this case there are real witches), and that there was enough evidence to convict BALCO of drug charges without Thomas's truthful testimony. Thus, Thomas's truthful answers were superfluous.

In other words the US government, elected by the people and governing for the benefit of the electorate should never concern itself with drug abuse, sports fraud, money laundering, integrity in sports, cheating, and lying. That concept is laughable, and frankly dangerous...however far too common.

Further, the attorneys posit that lying to investigators constitutes no crime if in the lawyer's opinion the evidence (in hindsight) was already sufficient. Again, ridiculous.

Thomas -- an obvious anabolic steroid abuser who cheated competitors to win medals by abusing hormones -- could have avoided this entire episode by simply telling investigators the embarrassing truth. Damn, that truth is so inconvenient. Thomas dishonored her sport and herself by taking so many hormones that she needed to shave in the morning, pluck hairs from her chest, and take voice lessons as a baritone before beating her competitors.

That anyone defends cheating, or suggests fans don't really care about integrity of games, seems inexplicably illogical unless one understands there is a segment of the public, whose moral compass simply spins bizarrely out of control. Anything goes if money and fame are on the line. Is this the 'Tonya Harding' defense of PED use?

Any fan attending a MLB game last year to hear the boos for Barry Bonds -- many coming from kids -- will understand that even young fans understand concepts like cheating and lying. It appears it takes the adults to mount a disingenuous theory on why lying and cheating and scheming are acceptable among intelligent people. (more after the jump)

03/28/2008

BALCO superstar investigator Jeff Novitzky be testifying at the San Francisco perjury case of Tammy Thomas yesterday (links here and here). Notable for several reasons, Novitzky will be busy this year laying down the truth about the BALCO investigation. Novitzky's determination brought down Victor Conte's BALCO steroid and HGH distribution center. He will also be talking Barry Bonds sometime later this year when the ex-Giant slugger goes on trial for similar perjury trials related to the BALCO investigation. To the AP:

The federal agent whose hunches helped spark the government's probe
of Barry Bonds and the BALCO steroids-distribution ring testified
publicly for the first time Thursday about his detective work — from
picking through trash to analyzing bank databases.

Jeff Novitzky,
an IRS special agent, dangled hints about sports figures touched by the
federal government's investigation of performance-enhancing drugs in
sports, but at the direction of prosecutors, identified none. On eight
occasions, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow directed Novitzky to
describe his investigation without naming names.

The testimony
came on the fourth day of the perjury and obstruction of justice trial
of cyclist Tammy Thomas, who's charged with lying to a grand jury,
thereby hampering the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative investigation.

Barry Bonds' legal team is expected to monitor the trial closely, because the home run king faces nearly identical charges.

Novitzky
described surveillance in 2003 of elite athletes coming and going from
BALCO, the Burlingame business at the scandal's center. One
unidentified person went from BALCO "directly to Pacific Bell Park, I
think it was called at the time," referring to the stadium where the
San Francisco Giants play, now called AT&T Park.

"The
majority of the athletes were from the sport of track and field, but
there were athletes from baseball, football," ranging from well-known
to obscure athletes, Novitzky said. Some of their jerseys hung on the
wall of BALCO's gym, he said.

Why did the IRS become interested in BALCO?

Novitzky, testifying as part of the prosecution's case, looked
directly at the jury of San Francisco Bay area residents and told them
he, too, is from this region. He said he became aware of BALCO founder
Victor Conte in the late 1980s as Conte's nutritional supplements
gained visibility.

03/27/2008

Testimony in the Tammy Thomas-BALCO perjury trial turned to basic business yesterday. And talked your basic Barry Bonds too. Bonds, Marion Jones, and Jason Giambi received huge bang for their bucks according to testimony.

Patrick Arnold -- who has to know about as much about anabolic steroids as anyone on the planet -- and his ex-girlfriend talked to the jury. Kelcey Dalton confided that Arnold gave his then-undetectable AAS -- the Clear -- to athletes including Marion Jones, CJ Hunter and Barry Bonds. However as adroit as Arnold appeared in synthesizing steroids, he appeared clumsy in business acumen.

"Here's the thing: the stuff was so strong, man," said Kelcey
Dalton, who helped market the substances developed and manufactured by
Patrick Arnold, her then-boyfriend.

Arnold, a chemist, invented
some of the steroids at the heart of a drugs and sports scandal in
which Thomas is the first person being tried.

Dalton, testifying
on the third day of Thomas' trial, said Arnold told her that athletes
and trainers were reporting in the early 2000s they would use "really
minute doses" of the steroids because doing so would minimize side
effects, and "because they were so strong."

Holding her thumb and
forefinger three inches apart to represent a small vial, Dalton said
such a container would fetch $10-$20. "Marion Jones split it with C.J.
Hunter and it lasted six months," Dalton said, referring to the track
and field stars later disgraced for doping.

The sums of money Arnold was making were "very low," she said. "I think we should have charged more."

Considering the results that THG produced -- world records in the 100M dash, many Olympic gold medals, single season and career MLB home run records -- these were bargain basement prices.

During her testimony, Dalton also said she heard Bay Area Laboratory
Co-Operative founder Victor Conte say he had provided steroids to
Jones, imprisoned earlier this month for lying to investigators about
doping and her role in a check-fraud scheme; and to home run king Barry
Bonds.

I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about the congressional hearings
held last month regarding the use of steroids in Major League Baseball,
and I’m very disappointed with the views being expressed by many of the
people I’ve spoken to.

There is a widely held sentiment that the
hearings were a waste of valuable time and resources which Congress
could have diverted to more worthy causes, such as the war in Iraq and
the faltering economy at home. To propose that Congress should focus
only on the major campaign issues such as war and the economy is simply
irresponsible.

I understand the desire to focus on big-picture
issues. There are certainly millions of average Americans wondering
whether or not they will be employed next month and how many more
troops are going to die today. But Congress can only do so much to
affect either of these issues on a given day. Members of Congress can’t
physically bring peace to Iraq — they can’t just pack their bags and
ship off to strengthen the surge.

The investigation will begin Monday
where the controversy began: inside the Orient Road Jail, in the same
booking area where all but one of seven inmate abuse complaints against
deputies came from.

Dr. James Sewell, one of Florida's best known lawmen, will lead the top to bottom review, and he says no punches will be pulled.

"I think throughout the profession right now - and again
not speaking before we get in and look at this - I think there is a
professional concern in all agencies right now about the use of
steroids and the impact of those steroids and its use on the way they
do business. So as we look at it, that will be a logical - one of the
questions we will ask," said Sewell.

4. Brain McNamee's lawyers file to throw out Roger Clemens's defamation suit in Houston. Based on all the investigations pursuing Clemens, we would guess that he should focus on his own defense rather than defamation suits.

03/01/2008

Supermale Barry Bonds's testosterone level knows no bounds according to the federal indictment information released in San Francisco yesterday. Bonds's testosterone levels -- like his single season mark of 73, or his career home run tally of 762 -- soared off the charts in 2001. The Vancouver Sun carries the story:

It had previously been revealed by the U.S. Attorney's Office that Bonds tested positive for testosterone in November 2000.

But
the 2003 transcript shows that Bonds was asked about test results for a
sample labelled with the initials "B.B." and with date of birth 7-24-64
-- Bonds' birthday -- from January 2001.

The sample was from Specialty Laboratories and signed by a physician named Brian Goldman.

Dated
Jan. 19, 2001, the sample found levels of free testosterone that could
not be accurately measured as they were higher than 5.00. A normal free
testosterone level for a male aged between 20 and 49 ranges between
0.95 and 4.30, the record stated.

Holy Moley. In plain words, if the average male's testosterone level were between say 0 and 61, Bonds's level sat at 73. An incredibly new high for season home runs testosterone. As much as 73 home runs boggled the mind of the baseball fan, Bonds's T number caused a stroke with the lab boss:

"The percentage of total testosterone in unbound state, per cent free
testosterone, cannot be calculated since the free testosterone level is
greater than the highest detectable concentration," it read.

Incredible you say? Bonds sets a single season HR mark of 73 and a single season testosterone level off the charts in 2001. Bonds too didn't understand this new unbelievable testosterone record:

...asked specifically why his testosterone level would be abnormally high, Bonds said he did not comprehend.

"I
don't understand this piece of paper. I've never seen it before, once
again," he said. "So, I would not be able to answer that question
because I don't understand how that works.

"And I don't
understand if some people may have more testosterone levels than
others. And I just -- I can't honestly believe that just because this
piece of paper says something that there's a problem. Everyone is
different." Bonds said he had never been made aware of the test results
and that his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, had said "Okay,
everything's fine," after taking a blood sample.

"I trusted him,
I believed him," Bonds said. "I didn't think about it." Bonds
specifically was asked if he had been taking any substances in January
2001, and denied doing so.

"In January 2001, were you taking either the flaxseed oil or the cream?" Bonds was asked.

"No," he replied.

"And were you taking any other steroids?"

"No."

We might predict with a good steroid testing program, MLB will never see a season home run total of 73, or the record testosterone level reached by the Giant slugger.

02/25/2008

Once again proving Dave Krieger right (that we are in a post-ethics era), the Tampa Bay Devil Rays ponder giving Barry Bonds a contract.

Bonds, indicted for perjury, and highly suspected of juicing on any number of PEDs (anabolic steroids, HGH, insulin, Clomid, and others), flaps in the wind following his 'release' by the Giants last year. Embroiled in several steroids flaps one would think a MLB team might avoid steroid flap numero uno. But no.

On the other hand, it could be argued that any citizen should be given the right to earn a living, if his skills can be utilized. Difficult moral arguments. Should a MLB club sign a player under indictment, or strongly suspected of PED use?

There has been no formal offer, actual wooing or even public
displays of affection. But the Rays seem to have at least an eye on
Barry Bonds, and team officials have recently talked internally about
the all-time home run king who has been at the center of the steroids
controversy.

The Rays have weighed the merits of other
remaining free agents, such as Mike Piazza and Kenny Lofton, and may
not have decided whether to proceed on any of them. In Bonds' case,
there would be a lot to think about in balancing what good he could do
at the plate and the gate vs. the disruption he could cause in the
clubhouse. (Unlike some teams, they also haven't said publicly they
wouldn't consider Bonds, either.)

"Our policy is to not comment
on any players outside the organization except to say generally that
we're committed to improving our roster for 2008 and beyond," executive
vice president Andrew Friedman said.

Bonds, 43, is seeking a
chance to play and, adding to the potential plot, his agent, Jeff
Borris, is in Tampa this week. But he wouldn't say Sunday night if, or
how much, the Rays were interested.

"I talk to Tampa Bay all the time for a variety of reasons," Borris said.

02/21/2008

He's under indictment for perjury, he made the Mitchell Report, and he's America's greatest home-run hitter. And now he wants to play ball again in 2008. Yes, Barry Bonds wants to lace them up again this year, if someone needs a designated hitter who may be taking long AWOLs during the season. The New York Daily News:

"Barry is not retiring. He's not considering retiring," Jeff Borris, the agent for slugger Barry Bonds,
told the Daily News on Wednesday. "If Barry's skills had eroded and he
wasn't able to compete at the major league level, he would take off his
own jersey."

After the San Francisco Giants - his team for the previous 15 years - finally severed ties with Bonds this winter, the face of the BALCO steroids scandal found himself without work for the first time since 1985, the year before his rookie season in Pittsburgh.

Perhaps Barry's legal team will obtain a dismissal of the perjury charges. Perhaps Barry can latch to an MLB with a need for a DH. Whatever, Barry has more juice left.

02/14/2008

Shocking (oh really) news delivered from San Francisco. Barry Bonds failed a steroids urine test in 2000 only one month after hitting the single season record 73rd home run. That may be inculpatory evidence that Bonds used the juice before he testified he didn't 'knowingly' dope in the BALCO trial. Thus Bonds perjured himself under oath. This is old, but a typo turned it into new news for a couple hours.

The Govt would need to prove Bonds knowingly juiced up on steroids supplied by 'trainer' Greg Anderson. From ATP:

"At trial, the government's evidence will show that Bonds received
steroids from Anderson in the period before the November 2001 positive
drug test, and that evidence raises the inference that Anderson gave
Bonds the steroids that caused him to test positive in November 2001,"
US Attorney Joseph Russoniello wrote.

Barry Bonds, the all-time career home run leader, and single-season home run record holder flunked the 'riods test in 2001 one month after blasting #73. (Well, that was a mistake; it was 2000). ABC News:

Federal prosecutors in San Francisco say Barry Bonds tested positive
for steroids just one month after hitting his record 73rd home run of
the 2001 season.

Federal prosecutors in San Francisco say Barry Bonds tested
positive for steroids just one month after hitting his record 73-rd home run of the 2001 season.

This new allegation came to light
on Thursday, in a legal filing in his perjury case connected to the
BALCO steroids investigation.

Prosecutors contend they have evidence bonds tested positive for
steroids in November of 2007, just two months after he set the
single-season home run record. (Note: that's type #2)

Bonds has maintained he never 'knowingly' took performance-enhancing drugs.

Let's go to the expert, Victor Conte, for a comment:

On Thursday night, Victor Conte told ABC7 News: "It's my opinion, that
there are no such
positive steroid test results for Barry Bonds in
November of 2001 as alleged by the government."

We recant what we said earlier about Conte. Victor Conte was correct....Bonds did not fail a 2001 test.

01/18/2008

Some weeks we feel like "Law and Order". We expect that music between scenes to start playing in the background da-da. Considering the surprise from San Francisco federal court today, da-da.

Dana Stubblefield (remember him?) found himself in court charged with lying to BALCO investigators about steroid use. Who would have thought? The AP goes with the story.

Former NFL defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty Friday
to lying to investigators in the BALCO steroids case, making him the
first football player charged in the long-running federal investigation.

Stubblefield,
a three-time Pro Bowl player who testified before the BALCO grand jury
in November 2003, was charged with making false statements to federal
agents about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The charges
were unsealed Friday in federal court in San Francisco. They allege
Stubblefield made false statements to an IRS agent when he said he had
not used steroids linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and
denied receiving performance enhancers from BALCO founder Victor Conte.

The
37-year-old Stubblefield pleaded not guilty and was released on bail.
He returned to court later Friday to enter his plea to the false
statements charge. The deal calls for him to spend zero to six months
in prison.

Stubblefield and his attorney, Mike Armstong, declined to comment as they left court.

Apparently the BALCO prosecutors continue to clean up that action. Another hangover from BALCO, Marion Jones, was sentenced last week to 6 months, the same as Stubblefield.